LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson (fic)

Kate Atkinson is a brilliant writer and her books are unforgettable.  One of her most engaging characters is Jackson Brodie in her Case Histories series.  I have enjoyed all her books and always eagerly look forward to her next.  Her novels are amusing, intelligent, clever and invariably entertaining.  Life After Life is my favorite and the most imaginative, as well as among the most enjoyable books I have read this year.

The story is about Ursula Todd, a curious child born in a suburb of London in 1910.  The thing is, that Ursula dies just as her story begins.  She then reappears, and dies, and reappears, and dies, again and again.  That is until she gets it right....her life. It is the most wonderful premise for a book and rather than being confusing, it somehow clearly makes sense. It means the author can reinvent her story over and over, and the reader can't wait to see what the next incarnation will bring.  This is a book I read into the wee hours just to see what turn Ursula's next life would take.

Each era ends with the words, "darkness fell."  As Ursula survives her endings we live through her childhood in the bucolic English countryside.  She was the third of five children and besides her parents, two servants who are like part of the family also live in the Edwardian home.  We live through a good deal of history, the two World Wars and the in between times.  The bombing of London in WWII is made very real as Ursula spends several lives there, including one with an abusive husband who thankfully does not survive into her next life.  Ursula has several romances along the way which give the reader a chance to root for the most appropriate of the bunch.  One of the most likable characters in the book is her wayward aunt, Izzy, the black sheep of the family, who flits about from one adventure to another, but who is always there to support and help Ursula in times of trouble.  And Ursula has more than her share of troublesome adventures. One of the more curious is an encounter with Adolf Hitler.

It is hard to do justice to this book in a review as it can seem flighty and confusing.  It is not.  It is a top notch story that I highly recommend.  Do read it, you will not be disappointed.  It is also a good choice for reading groups.